Hello again...

Hi there,

Just a brief post to say hello...we are stuck inside tonight due to major amounts of blowing snow and although not much new has happened, I wanted to post a picture of the 4 kiddos sledding this past Sunday with dad. The 2 younger ones decided they were NOT fans of sledding, and after a few runs down the hill were content to watch their older brothers from the comfort of the family van.

I started back to work this week...which makes things just a little bit harrier, but it actually is a bit of a nice break from the fighting twosome at home (Toby and Bethany are fierce competitors and frequent squabblers at the moment). The great news is that Bethany is doing great at daycare (my good friend Gina takes the kids while I'm at work) and is not bothered at all by the big dog there. Chewie is a mere 20 pounds, but Darby is 60! After about 10 minues of crying the first day, Bethany has not paid any attention to her - praise God!!

Tomorrow we go to a "Celebration of Life" service for Ian Henderson, the sweet boy I have mentioned in the past, who passed away last week at the young age of 7. He is rejoicing in Heaven with the Father now, out of pain and completely whole, but we mourn with his parents as they begin life without his physical presence. It is a temporary separation to be sure, but heart wrenching as well.

Saturday I am honored that some friends are throwing a "Welcome Home" shower for Bethany at our church, and then later in the afternoon we have an adoption group fellowship gathering for all of the MN families with AWAA (our agency).

We are so blessed! Thanks for checking in!

Becky

Ho Gowji! (Cantonese for good dog)-Sunrise in Minnesota

We are still here but we are getting pulled into the busyness of life in Minnesota and neglecting our blogging responsibilities. Our friend Darryl has effectively chided us for not staying on top of our posts. Becky and I were able to pull away for a few hours for our Valentine's celebration and just decided that blogging wasn't an effective way to be romantic. Bethany has made a dramatic improvement in her adjustment to Chewie... She no longer is scanning the room to ensure that she has a location of the dog. She can walk from room to room with no worries about his proximity and she has even taken on the responsibility of feeding him every morning. We had come to think that she wanted to be picked up because of the dog but it turns out that she just likes to be carried everywhere! It is an immense blessing to be past the "I am freaked out by the dog phase" because now we can gain a clearer understanding of how well she is adjusting. It is still a bit challenging to get past the language barrier and speech impediment caused by her cleft palate. We believe that Bethany is saying much more than we realize in English but because of her almost entirely missing palate we don't understand much. This is consistent with what her caretakers in China told us. Often, they could not understand her Cantonese either. None the less we are able to communicate pretty well. She talks a lot! I can't wait to understand more of it!











Matthew, our oldest just celebrated his 9th birthday. We are looking forward to a very small gathering of one of his friends and family for a party tomorrow. Matthew has coined it his "un-birthday" party because we have limited the party from his original hope. His basketball team has been a great blessing to him and the family as we've experienced alot of fun at his games this season. The team placed third overall in the final playoffs. We are thankful that he has the interest and the ability to play. His coach gave him the "most improved" player honorable mention at the end of the playoff. I know I've enjoyed getting into the sport as much or more as him. For those that know me that is a feat in itself. He has been a bit under the weather tonight so pray that he feels better tomorrow.




Trent continues to enjoy kindergarten and is also looking forward to his upcoming birthday. We are in the birthday season here at our house. He received special honors as he saved the day in the van as mom was driving. Bethany had a slight problem with something coming out of her nose and mom could not help (driving). She asked Trent to help with a Kleenex and he boldy went where most 5 (almost 6) year olds would never go! He wiped the offensive matter off of her face! He received an opportunity to take a chance in the privilege jar. This is a reward that can only be achieved for a random act of kindness. You cannot get it for what could appear as "sucking up" is the bottom line I guess. He picked a slip of paper that said, "movie night-you pick". This is the same kid who squishes spiders with his fingers when he sees them...








And finally an update on our Toby. He is having a bit of a rough time. We have to guess that is has a lot to do with the new competition in the house to be the baby in the family. He has been acting out quite a bit...bothering his sister (especially in the car), hitting his brothers and often not doing what mom/dad ask. It's actually quite amazing that Bethany and he can turn anything into a competition. We were building a Lego block tower the other day and they were jockeying to be the fastest to hand me a block. It was like a muscle off at a body building contest. He is our laugher. Not that the others don't laugh but he laughs when he's nervous or in trouble. That makes it awkward and frustrating at times to discipline. Frankly it makes it fun sometimes. I know that I can easily make him laugh to help him to stop being angry about something.






Praise God for the blessing of our children and what we learn through our experiences with them. Can you believe how our family has grown! I would have never imagined about 10 years ago that I would have 3 sons and a daughter from China! Thank God that he has taught me to never say never (any more).







We are a bit sad as the child of friend of ours has gone home to be with the Lord. Ian Henderson passed from this world two nights ago. He's a great kid. Please keep his parents, family and friends in your prayers as this is difficult time and a celebration of a life well lived in just a few short years. He is safe now with his eternal Father. Read more at http://www.hendersonhome.net/.

Thanks for checking in with us. Dan

"Playing in Nanning"

Ni hao! (Hello)

Well, another day in Nanning! Last night went a little better for Bethany. She was sad and cried a little at bedtime, but settled in to sleep after awhile and slept the whole night again. She showered with me this morning (Becky) and we began another day together!

Let me back up a bit and tell you about our adventures yesterday and last night. In the morning, we did adoption finalization paperwork. Our guide, Glen, then took us to Wal-Mart again for a few supplies (we let Bethany pick out a backpack and a few toys) and then stayed with us through lunch time, which was at Pizza Hut (yay!! western food!!). Then we were on our own!! Just enough time to explore without getting ourselves into trouble!! :) Anyway, after resting at the hotel for the afternoon, we and the Grimaldis ventured down the street a ways from the hotel looking at the street side shops and restaurants, trying to figure out where we might attempt some dinner. We found a city park and stopped to hear someone singing a little concert; however, when the westerners arrived with their Chinese babies, the singing stopped and we promptly became the center of attention! Our friends' daughter was in a snuggly, and the locals were very interested in seeing how the baby was "hanging" from her mother. We continued on, not wanting to draw a crowd for too long...We actually ended up finding a cute Chinese bakery where we found some goodies, and then headed back to the restaurant by the hotel that Glen had taken us to the night before.

Pictures from today...

Beautiful gardens decorated for the Chinese New Year that is coming up...

This morning Glen took us to a place in Nanning called the "Green Garden" because of the beautiful plants, trees and greenery there. It is the highest point in Nanning. There are also statues that represent all of the minority groups living in the Guangxi province. It was very beautiful and warm. Bethany enjoyed smelling the flowers with mom and touching the statues. She is very content and loves being held. She takes her pink backpack with her whereever we go! We also spent some time at what we would call a large "coi pond." There were hundreds of fish, some quite large, waiting to be fed. Bethany enjoyed feeding the fish immensely and kept saying (in Cantonese, of course), "look at all the fish - they're everywhere!!"

I doubt you've ever seen a coi pond this big... epsecially with fish this large in it...

The Grimaldi's mastering

the art of chopsticks...

We asked for forks and they brought one.

They said it was the only one they had in the whole restaurant!

After lunch with Glen and our driver at another local restaurant, we are back at the hotel again for the day. Tomorrow we are going to the zoo, which should be another educational adventure. At this point Dan and I are getting very homesick for the boys. Please pray for us and for them. When we talk to them, they are starting to miss home and us as well. They are being very well-cared for, but this is the longest they have been away from home and from us, so it is a huge emotional strain on all of us. The tears come easily for both Dan and I when we think of them, but we know this is an important time for us to be spending in our daughter's homeland, bonding to her. We must stay in Nanning until we get her passport on Friday - Saturday morning we fly out to Guangzhou for the final immigration paperwork and her visa, which will take about a week.

One last thing I want to share...Bethany has been very interested in the picture album we've brought of her brothers and our family. She has me tell her the names of her brothers over and over again and tries her best to repeat them. She already can repeat some English words, and I have been trying to give her some sign language to use as well. She also really likes the song "Twinkle, Twinkle, little star," and will sing it perfectly (the tune, not the words yet) on her own. It is precious. God is really answering some many prayers for us while we are here. We really appreciate all of the love, support, prayers, and encouraging comments we have received via email and our blog. It really sustains us in those moments of fear and sadness. You are a large part of God's provision for us in this journey. Thank you!!

Dan hanging out with some beautiful Chinese women at the entrance to the restaurant. ;)

Lots of love,

Becky (and Dan)

Last Day in Beijing and Travel to Nanning

Hello friends and family,

We miss you all! Yesterday (Sunday) we attended a Christian church that only foreigners can attend. We had to bring a copy of our passport to get into it. As with everywhere we went there were many people bustling into the church service. Although there were people there from many countries they all came together to worship God. It was a blessing to be able to participate in the service. Maybe just a taste of how it will be in heaven someday when all followers come together to glorify God forever. Some thought that they saw someone handing out passports out front and that there were many non-foreigners getting into the service. I certainly hope so... :) It was also nice to see some of the families from the other group that we separated from at the service including the Bjorlins! We had hoped we'd be traveling with them the entire time since they are from Minnesota and we have known them now for two years since starting the adoption process. It turns out our children are from different areas but we do get to connect up with them occassionally.

From there we rushed to lunch for Beijing Roasted Duck. The locals say that you haven't been to Beijing until you've had it. It was good although I've discovered that I have liked the Kung Pao Chicken. It has been at every meal except Breakfast. There are many things that are interesting to try and some that we wish we hadn't. :) Chinese folks tend to eat more of ALL of the animal...

It's been an amazing blessing to experience this journey with other couples/families. After today we are together with one other couple from Seattle Washington until we are reunited with all of the families again towards the end of our journey.

Tianenman Square...

We(the men) have been joking about being GIGANTIC compared to the locals. I guess that the folks in Beijing are taller than those in Nanning where we will be for most of our time...

Forbidden City and the Imperial Palace...it was very cold and windy today, and we were outside for more than 2 hours - Brrrrr! That's why we look so bundled up!

The Emperor's Throne Room

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but we seemed to walk forever through the Forbidden City, which was where the Chinese Emperors lived (and never left). There are 9,999 rooms throughout the place, in several different buildings!!! Some are where official business took place, and some are the actual living quarters where the Emperor and his family resided.

We had a little extra time to go check out the Olympic Water Cube (above) and the Bird's Nest (left). Then we headed for the airport for our 8:15 p.m. flight to Nanning. Three and a half hours later we landed, and then took a 40 minute ride to our hotel. We were ready to go to bed!! We noticed right away the difference between Beijing and Nanning...Nanning is much quieter, simpler and less Westernized. We were a little spoiled at our Beijing hotel, and the guides were a little more hands on. We'll be much more on our own this week, after we meet Bethany later on today. It's a little nervewracking, being in an unfamiliar place with strange food, and a language we have no clue about (far less English speaking Chinese here in Nanning than in Beijing), but I am sure it will be even harder for Bethany!! Please pray for our meeting today...we are more than just a little nervous. :)

We will post pictures later today or early tomorrow of our precious little girl...the pictures you've all been waiting for!

Lots of love,

Dan (author of the first half) and Becky (ending paragraphs) :)

Exhausted!!

Hi all,

This is just a quick hi...we'll blog more after we sleep. We had a very long day, which ended with a 3.5 hour flight from Beijing to Nanning. We just got checked into our hotel about 1/2 hour ago...it's 1:30 am here right now, so we need to get to bed. Sorry I can't give you more right now...tomorrow we get Bethany in the mid-to-late afternoon, so we'll have time to blog in the morning.

Becky

We made it! We are in Beijing!

We have arrived at our hotel after the longest plane ride we've ever imagined... I didn't know a plane could run that long without running out of fuel. Amazing! We were disappointed prior to boarding our flight in Chicago as we were not able to get seats next to each other for the Beijing flight. Thankfully when we boarded the plane a very nice Chinese gentleman switched seats with me. Even better, the seats we were assigned to were economy plus just a row behind first class. The leg room was phenomenal! I'm very thankful for that! We flew over 6,500 miles today, over 15 hours, over the upper northern hemisphere including Canada, Alaska, Siberia, the Arctic Ocean an a whole bunch of mountains. It was alot of tv, reading, gaming, standing up, walking to the other end of the plane, sitting, stretching, yawning, talking, eating, sleeping, eating, sleeping, eating and so on...

After we successfully landed the airport was amazing! I didn't realize that it is the largest airport terminal in the world. It is something else...

After a long bus ride to the hotel (the driver got lost) we are finally here. Although very tired we found ourselves very hungry so we tried to go downstairs to order some food. Seems that we aren't quite ready to be on our own as we had trouble figuring out prices and menu items. We ended up coming back to our room for Wheat Thins and a snack bar. mmmmmm goood! Guess will have to figure out that stuff in the morning.

Much more to share but very, very tired. Take care and we hope to hear from you while we are here. Please post a note or drop us an email. Just a little bit closer to our little girl. We saw so many littler reminders of her on the plane all around us. Families adopting for the first and second time along with other chinese families traveling home. We're coming Bethany!

More tomorrow as we are going to the Summer Palace (in the winter), the Jade factory and the Great Wall (just a part of it). Hopefully I can learn some more of the language and how to handle my Yuan Renminbi.

Amen! (that wasn't a prayer exactly but it feels like I should say that after today!)

Dan

Travel Preparation and Thank you!

Hi all,

Well, I got through our 1+ hour conference call with all of the travel info from our agency today. Phew!! We are 1 of 21 families with our agency traveling on the 8th!! Yes, I typed 21!! Many of us have older children (older than infant) and children with special needs, and we are coming from all over the U.S. How exciting to travel with such a big group!! We also got our itinerary (and paid our hefty "in-country package" bill!) and found out that our "Gotcha Day" is Monday, January 12th. So, you can pray extra hard that day for Bethany as she meets her parents!

I wanted to take a minute to just share my thanks to everyone that has been a part of this road with us...there have been SO MANY of you praying for us, donating to our "bring Bethany home" fund, encouraging us, etc. And many now are set up to help us with logistical issues while we are away - taking care of our kids, transporting them to and from activities, watching our house, boarding our dog, shoveling our walk, taking us to and from the airport, covering our duties at work while we are away...the list goes on and on!! It is truly amazing how God has worked all things together to get this beautiful little girl home. Wow. Our God is an awesome God, and we are humbled by His love for us and for Bethany.

Again, thanks to all of you. You are forever a part of Bethany's life and ours. We love you!

Becky

6 more days...gotta get packing!

Well, I am procrastinating the packing ordeal. I have a collection of "stuff" spread out across Bethany's room, but there is no sense of order or completeness to it yet. The hard part is having everything we need/want with us, but "packing light" as is recommended at the same time. Fifteen days is a long time to be gone!! Monday is our travel conference call, so hopefully we will get a lot of direction and inspiration then.

I am struggling with the emotional issue of leaving my 3 boys behind as our departure date draws close. "Aren't you so excited?!" is the common question I get these days, and I am, but I am also very anxious and a little sad that I will be away from my 3 little princes at the same time. I think the anticipation of this whole overwhelming experience is messing with my mind and my emotions. I keep meditating on Joshua 1:9, Philippians 4:6-7, and 1 Peter 5:8 when the worrisome thoughts take over. Hopefully those thoughts will all melt away when our plane leaves the ground next Thursday.

Oh yeah...Happy New Year!

Becky

Soon...

Just a few more days until we leave on the biggest journey of our lives to do something that at one time we never imagined we would do.

Here's a picture of Bethany's birthday cake from our celebration on December 11th. Wish she could have been here already but for sure next year!

On Monday we purchased our plane tickets after hearing back from our adoption agency regarding the final itinerary. Last night we began evaluating how much stuff we are actually going to bring with us. Many have told us to pack light and that there is a charge for overweight luggage. That seems to be difficult to do as we get ready for the longest trip we've ever been on the farthest away from almost everything we know. In the coming days we will be on a conference call to learn what to expect on the journey and ask questions, continue packing, finalize arrangements for the kids, wrap up last minute things at work, buy a mattress and finalizing details for Bethany's room and much more.

We are so thankful that we continue to have friends and family that surprise us continually with support to help make this all work out. God has blessed us immensely! Please pray for help with our finances as the cost of the plane tickets and in-country expenses have gone up recently and calm and courage over the next few days for both of us if you can.

Let us know how you are doing and keep touch with us while we are in China right here! We will try to post daily.

Finally, here is a short video of us just playing UNO. Imagine how this picture is going to change with our little girl... This is going to be fun!


Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

We're headed for China!!

Hello! We got our T.A. (travel approval) call today! Of course the agency had trouble getting a hold of us...just like the day we got the referral! Dan was out running errands with Toby and Becky was helping at Trent's Snowman Party (you can't say Christmas you know!) at school. Anyway, it looks like we are leaving January 8th and returning sometime around the 22nd. We were hoping for a few days sooner, since the kids go back to school on the 20th, and we wanted them to have a few days home with us when we returned, but we might just pull them out for a few days anyway. So, now we have a few weeks to get packed and geared up for an amazing couple of weeks! More later...thanks for your prayers and encouragement along this journey! The end is in sight!!

One more quick note...please pray for our safe travels to and from China and for the emotional separation for us and our 3 boys while we are apart. I (Becky) have never been away from the boys for more than 1-2 nights, and even with all the excitement of getting Bethany, am dreading being away from my boys that long. Of the boys, I am most concerned about Matthew, who will probably have the hardest time having mom and dad gone. Thanks.

Have a great day! We are!! :)

Dan, Becky, Matthew, Trent and Toby

Still waiting...

Sorry we are not being too faithful on posting regularly yet. It's mostly because there is nothing new to report, unfortunately. I'm a bit grumpy about it, because I feel our expectations were raised when we were told we "could be gone by Christmas" a month ago! Well, it's not likely at this point, and that is ok, because we would like to spend Christmas with our boys. However, it would be nice to get a phone call saying that we are leaving the day after Christmas!! :)

Since it was Bethany's birthday last week, I thought it would be perfect to get our travel approval call; it didn't happen, but I remained optimistic, thinking we would get the call yesterday, on Dan's birthday. Well, that didn't happen either, so now I'm going to hope it comes tomorrow...and then the next day...and then the next. Get the picture?? :)

I don't know how people who are waiting for their first child deal with this waiting thing. We are so blessed to have 3 boys that keep us plenty busy, and I still am getting impatient! Of course, most of you know, that is just in my nature to be impatient!! :)

Well enough rambling and smiley faces from me tonight. God is in control. He has been throughout this entire process. Instead of just saying it, I need to act as though I believe it to be true. Then I can do away with these negative and crabby attitudes. Stay tuned...

Becky

Bethany's birthday is this week.

This week Bethany turns three on this coming Thursday, December 11. This comes with gladness and sadness as we wait for word on when we travel. We are planning to have a celebration as a family. This keeps the boys excited about their sister's arrival as well.

We did finally receive communication from our agency on Thursday providing instruction on how to file for our visas. So that provides a little encouragement that at least we are able to progress forward ever so slightly. We also heard but haven't confirmed that costs may be going up after January 1st so we hope that we are able to move forward before then. This certainly costs enough already! Please pray for us for patience and courage as we prepare for our journey. It would be great to hear from you as well. Drop us a note.

Letter to Bethany:
Bethany,

We wonder, wait, hope and pray for you. We loved you before we even met you. We knew that God had chosen you just as he chose your brothers to be a special part of our family. We can't wait to finally meet you and bring you home.

Love,

Mom, Dad, Matthew, Trent and Toby

Deciding to Adopt

Now that we had decided this is what we knew we were supposed to do we took the next step to determine where our child would come from. While we weren't opposed to a domestic adoption our hearts were drawn to the situation in China. There they have a one child policy (at least have had and do have in many areas). As a result of the policy and other cultural norms girls aren't as valued as boys. As a result both girls and boys with deformities or disabilities are either aborted, killed after birth or abandoned. Girls are often abandoned for just being girls. We read a book called the Lost Daughters of China. This book shared one families journey into adoption from China and a perspecitve on why so many girls are unwanted there. We also began to ask our three boys what they thought about the idea of adding a girl to our family. It was challenging for them to grasp the idea that we were going to request the ability to adopt but they wouldn't have a sister for more than a year. This was especially challenging for our younger two boys. We'll tell you more about that in the next post.

Why are we blogging? Why are we adopting?

We want to share our journey to adopting Bethany and many other details along the way. Hopefully, after this chapter has moved past we will be able to share another exciting way in which God has changed our lives. We continue to be amazed every day at how He has transformed the way that we think about and view the world. It wasn't long ago that we were arguing over when to start having kids and then how many to have. About two years ago Becky and I somehow got onto the subject of adoption and weren't sure why but wanted to learn more. Before you know it we were ordering information packets from adoption agencies and late at night after the kids were in bed sat up and watched the informational videos. There was a particular video that shared one family's experiences throughout their adoption of a Chinese orphan. By the end of the DVD we were both in tears. Unexplainable and uncontrollable tears. I'm embarassed sharing that here but have to admit that I was moved to do something that I'd never imagined doing until that moment. All of the stuff before then was just talk. We both knew at that moment that this is something we were going to do. We didn't know how much it would cost, what circumstances we would face from moving forward but knew that this was what we were supposed to do. I've never been more certain of something God has called me to do in my life. The next post will include our next steps in the process and how the rest of the family responded to the idea. See you then!
--Dan